Can-end-feeding mechanism



W. CAMERON. CAN END FEEDING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20. 1919.

1,352,57 Patented Se t. 14, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- W. CAMERON.

CAN END FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLlCATiDN FILED MAR. 20, 1919. 1,352,578, Patented Sept. 14, 1920.

'2 SHEETS-SH EET 2.

F1"\,- re cw Q? i i E\ N in! N A UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

' WILLIAM CAMERON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO CAMERON CAN MACHINERY 00., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

- feedlng will be simple in construction and accurate in operation so that the delivery of a can end CAN-END-FEEDING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters latent. Patented Sept. 14, 1920.

Application filed March 20, 1919. Serial No. 283,786.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM CAMERON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State'of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can-End-Feeding Mechanism,'of which the following tion. s

This invention relates in general to feeding mechanism and has more particular reference to a mechanism for separating an applied to thecylindrical bodies of tin cans.

It will be observed, however, that the princi-,

ple of my invention may be embodied in mechanisms tin can ends.

One of the primary objects of this invention is to provide a'mechanism which will effectually separate the can ends or other,

articles in a magazine one from another and deliver them in succession one at a time from y the magazine to a machine or otherinstrumentality adapted to act upon the delivered ends. 7

Another object of my invention is to provide a mechanism of this character which at regularpredetermined intervals will be c j insured.

, Further objects and many of theinherent advantages of my invention will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art as the invention becomes better understood by reference to the following-description when considered in connection withthe accompanying drawings.

Referring to the drawings,-

Figure 1 1s a side elevation partially n section of a feedingimechanism embodylng my invention. f I v F1g.- 2 1s a sectionalview on the line 2-2 of Fig.1.

\Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view Fig. 4 is an end elevation looking toward the right at the structure shown in Fig. 1;

z of theseparating and feeding worm. 7

and v a Fig. 5 isan enlarged fragmentary view While my improvedfeeding mechanism may be employed as is a specificacan ends which are adapted to be for feeding other articles than from the drawings.

' rotatably mounted an independentunit or a attached .to-any machine to whichthe artiv vcles elivered y he fe d ng mechanism are to be supplied, I have, in the present instance, illustrated my invention as attached to a seaming machine adapted to apply can ends to previously formed cylindrical tin can bodles. On the drawings, reference character 6 indicates generally a portion of the frame of a seaming machine and 7 indicates a shaft of this machine upon which is mounted the rotatable head 8 provided upon its periphery withpockets 9 into which the can bodies are fed in succession from an in clined chute 11. All of this mechanism may be of well-known orpreferred construction and only a fragmentary portion is illustrated, the mechanism by which the can ends are seamed onto the bodies 12 being omitted Upon the frame of the seaming machine and at the end of the head 8 I have mounted a casting 13 which carries the canend magazine and the operating mechanism associated therewith. The casting 13 is provided near each end with laterally and upwardly extending arms 14 and 15, respectively, adapted to support the. side members 16 which are preferably in the form of rods designed to serve as the side walls of the magazine. It will be observed that each .rod is connected with its respective arms by bolts 17 extendingthrough slots 18 in the arms thereby providing for adjustment by means of which the distance between the side members may be regulated to accommodate can ends of different dimensions. The bottom of the magazine consists of a plate 19 carried by the casting 13 and the-can ends 20 rest on edge on this plate and are guided and maintained in position in the magazine by the side members 16, as will be obvious from Figs. 1 and 2. The magazine .is arranged on an incline, as shown, so thatas the can ends are stacked in the magazine on edge they tend to feed by gravity toward the lower endthereof from whence they are delivered to the head8 of the seaming machine, as will be later explained. I I v Immediately beneath the plate 19 there is in suitable bearings formedin the casting 13, ashaft 21 equipped at its outer end with a bevel gear 22 adapted, to mesh with and be driven by a companion bevel gear 23 carried by the upper end of the shaft 2 1. The shaft 21 is provided in proximity to the lower end of the magazine 7 with a worm 25, the threads of which project illustrated in Figs. 1 and end of the worm where they will be succes-' pocket 9. 7

carried along with its body to the mechaupwardly above the plane of the bottom plate 19 and are spaced apart just sufiiciently to accommodate the edge of a single can end 20 so that as the worm revolves, it will separate at its upper end from the contiguous ends, that end which is engaged by the initial portion of the worm. Since the threads are designed to rather snugly engage the edges of the can ends it will bemanifest that they will be positively fed along by the worm in separated relation, substantially as 5, to the delivery sively discharged one at a time.

For the purpose of preventing the ends from tipping over or becoming displaced when they are released by the worm, I have provided each side meni ver- 16 of the magazine with an inwardly projecting abutment or shoulder 26 disposed substantially above the delivery end of the worm. From Fig. 5 it will be observed that this 7 shoulder is inclined rearwardly from top to bottom with respect to the worm, although as a matter of fact, the worm and magazine are inclined and this shoulder is disposed vertically. Movement of the can ends longitudinally of the magazine being limited by these abutments, when the lowermost end is delivered by the worm, this end will drop edgewise under the influence of gravity into the underlying pocket 9 of the head 8 in proximity to the end of the can body 12, as shown in Fig. 1. A plate 27, disposed beneath the screw, serves to guide the discharged can end and to maintain it in position in the As the head 8 revolves the end is nism by which the end is attached to the body and the next succeeding pocket with a can body therein will be brought into alinement with the magazine to receive the next end delivered by the worm.

The worm is driven in timed relation with the head 8 through the shaft 24L which in turn is driven from the main drive shaft 28 of the seaming machine; A pair of bevel gears 29 and 31 provide the driving connection between the shafts 2S and 24, these gears and also the gears 22 and 23 being preferably inclosed in casings 32 and 33, respectively, as a safety precaution.

In order that the can ends may not be jammed or distorted or that injury to the mechanism may not result from undue strain imposed upon the worm by a or other unusual condition, I have provided a safety release in the driving mechanism which will permit the feeding mechanism to stop when the strain thereon becomes excessive. This mechanism, best shown in Figs. 1 and 3, comprises a pair ofplates or blocks 34 and attached respectively to the hub of the gear 31 and o the shaft 28. The plate is provided on its face opposite to the block 35 witha radial groove or depression 36 and the block 35 is provided with a pin or bolt 37 normally urged outwardly to the position shown in 3 by an expansion spring 38, the outer end of the pin being tapered as indicated at 39. It will be obvious that when the strain upon this driving connection becomes excessive the pin will be pushed backwardly against the force of the spring 88 so as to disconnect the shaft 28 from the gear 31. lVhen the cause of the undue strain upon the feeding mechanism has been removed the connection will be automati cally reestablished and sinc'e'this connection can be reestablished only in one relative position of the shaft 28 and gear 31, the worm will always be driven in predetermined timed relation with respect to the head 8 so that a can end will be delivered at the proper instant to be received in the pocket 9. Since the shaft 28 is the main driving shaft of the seaming machine it will be manifest, of course, that the head 8 is also driven from this shaft, consequently the proportion and arrangement of the various be resorted to without departing parts may from the essence of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim: I

1. In a canend feeding mechanism, the combination of a magazine including a bottom, a worm disposed longitudinally of the magazine parallel with said bottomand having threads spaced to accommodate the edge of one end only between successive threads, means for actuating said worm to separate the ends in the magazine and feed them in separated relation toward the delivery end thereof, and an abutment disposed in the path of said can ends to insure an edgewise delivery of the ends from the magazine when released by said "worm.

2. In a can end feeding mechanism, the combination of an inclined magazine, including inclined arms and side members adjustably mounted thereon, a worm disposed longitudinally of said magazine near-the delivery end thereof, said worm having threads arranged to separate the can ends one from another and feed them in separated relation to the delivery end of the magazine, and an abutment positioned in the path of the advancing ends above said worm.

3. In a can end feeding mechanism, the combination of a magazine including a hot tom plate and means for separating and feeding the can ends in separated relation toward the delivery end of the magazine, and means for causing said ends to be delivered from the magazine transversely to the direction of movement in the magazine. a

4. In a can end feeding mechanism, the combination of a magazine comprising an inclined bottom and side walls means whereby said side Walls may be ad usted to accommodate can ends of various dimensions, a feeding and separating Worm having thread projectingabove said bottom into, the magazine near thereof, and means for operating said Worm to deliver said can ends one at a time from the magazine.

5. In a can end feeding mechanism, the

adjustable side members,

the delivery end combination of an inclined magazine com prising adjustable side members, a feeding and separating worm disposed near the delivery end of said magazine and means for operating said Worm, comprising a releasable connection adapted to be released When excessive strain is imposed upon said driving mechanism.

6. In a can end feeding mechanism, the combination of an inclined magazine, comprising a bottom plate, adjustable side members, a Worm having its threads projecting into the magazine, an abutment in the path of the can ends above said Worm, and means for driving said Worm, including a connection adapted to be released when excessive strain is imposed upon said driving mechanism. WILLIAM CAMERON. 

